Napoleon III (1808-1873) and Empress Eugenie (1826-1920) and Son

First as president and then as emperor of France, Napoleon took full advantage of his prestige as nephew of Napoleon I. Napoleon III gave France two decades of prosperity under an authoritarian regime. Eugenie, daughter of a Spanish nobleman, influenced her husband in foreign policy and served as regent during his absences. In this photo they appear with their only child, Napoleon-Eugene-Louis Bonaparte, who was born in 1856 and died in 1879.